Dozens attend meeting aimed at improving Medicaid in RI

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

WOONSOCKET – Dozens of medical professionals and locals alike sounded off on how to revamp Medicaid in Rhode Island.

The 29-member Working Group to Reinvent Medicaid, created by Governor Gina Raimondo, hosted the first of four public meetings Monday night in Woonsocket. The committee is tasked with making the state system more affordable.

In her state budget address, Raimondo proposed a nine-percent reduction in Medicaid growth, equating to about $90 million in savings, according to RI Health and Human Services.

“They brought some really good ideas with us about what we should do better, what we should do more of and what we should do less of,” explained Health and Human Services Secretary Elizabeth Roberts.

Numerous medical professionals at the meeting voiced concerns about care for the elderly and disabled, who officials say make up 25 percent in Medicaid enrollment and 64 percent of expenditures.

The Working Group will host three more public meetings across the state:

· Wednesday, March 18 at 6pm – Providence Community Health Center, 355 Prairie Avenue, Providence

· Monday, March 23 at 6pm – Peace Dale Library, 1057 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown

· Wednesday, April 1 at 6pm – Portsmouth Free Public Library, 2658 E. Main Road, Portsmouth

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